Experiment
by firecausesburns
Summary: Kristy/Mary Anne. Preseries, one-shot. At eleven, Kristy and Mary Anne think that they'll never kiss boys.


A/N: Originally posted in the "bsclove" community on Livejournal. All characters are the property of Ann M. Martin and Scholastic.

I love it at Kristy's. Her mother's at work, Charlie's taken David Michael to the brook, and Sam's at detention again, so we have the house to ourselves. My father's asked for me to be home at six, and it's getting close to it, so I'll have to leave pretty soon. He's just starting out not leaving me with a baby-sitter (finally, we've just started sixth grade and Kristy's already been baby-sitting David Michael for a year), but he's happier if I spend time with Kristy or Claudia than be at home alone.

Kristy's sprawled on her stomach in front of the TV, and I'm sitting on the floor near her, leaning against the couch. After years, she's taught me to be a little more laid-back when I'm with her – at my house, I'm always careful. We're watching the end of a teen movie. Kristy's seen a lot of them, I think, but I've never seen one before.

I don't like boys much. I get shy talking to them. Actually, I get shy talking to almost everyone, except Kristy and sometimes Claudia. And I don't think my dad will ever let me have a boyfriend, even if I did want one. But I like watching the boy and girl kissing on screen, I don't know why.

The end credits start to roll. Kristy punches the off button on the remote control and rolls onto her side. "So what'd you think?

"It was all right," is all I say.

"Yeah, it was OK. It got a bit mushy towards the end, though."

I don't say anything. Kristy wouldn't have liked the kissing scenes. I blush when I see them, but I know she doesn't. She prefers those big action movies with gunfights and car chases and explosions.

"Hey, Mary Anne?" Kristy sits up and leans against the couch, next to me.

"Yes?"

Kristy's a little quieter than usual. She looks like she's thinking about what to say, which doesn't happen too often. I always think before I speak, but Kristy usually just speaks, without stopping to think about it. It gets her in a lot of trouble sometimes. After just a second, she loses that look, and she's back to her normal self.

"Do you think you'll ever kiss a boy?"

I feel myself blushing. Within a couple of seconds, I'm bright red. But it's Kristy, so I try to pull myself together. "I don't think so."

"Yeah?"

"I don't think Dad will ever let me have a boyfriend."

Kristy's chewing her bottom lip. "I don't want a boyfriend. Boys are gross. But…" She pauses for a second, and then says in a big rush, "But I'm kinda curious about what it'd be like, you know?"

I nod. I know what she means.

"You think we could try?"

"What?" I don't think I've ever spoken like that to anyone. I'm shocked, but the more I think about it, the more I think it might be a good idea. I mean, I'd like to try kissing, but I don't want a boyfriend. And I know Kristy, I trust her.

"Okay," I whisper. "I'd like to try."

Slowly, Kristy breaks into a grin. "All right!" She looks away for a  
second, before saying "So how do we…?" Her voice trails off as she scoots up to sit next to me. "Do we just try it?"

"I guess so."

Kristy puts her arm around my shoulders, then turns to face me. I think I'm meant to shut my eyes, but I don't – I just watch Kristy's face slowly get closer to mine. Finally I close my eyes, and a moment later I feel Kristy's lips on mine.

It doesn't feel like I thought it would. I mean, there's no fireworks going off or anything. But I like it. Kristy's arm is warm around me and her lips are very soft. Neither of us moves our head or anything, like they did in the movie. We're just sitting on the floor, Kristy's arm around me, and her lips touching mine. It feels really good, warm and close and… just nice.

I don't really know how long we're meant to kiss for. After a little while – I don't know how long, maybe a few seconds – I pull away and look at Kristy. She looks just how I feel – a little excited, a little scared, a little overwhelmed.

"That was good," she says. Her voice is totally normal – she says the same thing in the same way after a movie or something.

"Yeah," I say quietly. Normally I try not to say 'yeah', because Dad doesn't like it. I'm not thinking about that now, though. I'm flustered.

Kristy checks her watch. "Oh! It's nearly six, Mary Anne. You should go home, your dad'll be expecting you." I stand up, a little disappointed that I have to leave so soon. When Kristy stands up too, she smiles at me, and says "You want me to walk you home?" My house is right next door to Kristy's, so it's not a long way for her to walk me, but I say yes.

When we reach my door, Kristy says quietly "Well… bye, Mary Anne."

"Bye, Kristy." She gives my arm a little punch, and turns to leave. As I reach for the doorbell, she turns around.

"Hey, Mary Anne?"

I turn my head. "Yes?"

"Thanks."


End file.
